(a) The Justice Acquisition Regulations (JAR) in this chapter are established to provide procurement regulations that supplement the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), 48 CFR, Chapter 1. As such, the regulations contained in the JAR will include coverage of only those areas where agency implementation is required by the FAR, or where Department of Justice (DOJ) policies and procedures exist that supplement FAR coverage and directly affect the contractual relationship between the Department and potential or existing contractors. The JAR will not repeat FAR coverage. (b) The FAR contains many references to agency procedures. If the JAR does not include supplemental guidance under the corresponding part or subpart, it is because the FAR language is considered to be sufficient. In those instances where the JAR states "in accordance with bureau procedures," it does not mean that the bureau must have a procedure. It is intended that the bureau procedures are to be followed if they exist, however, it does not mean that the bureau must have a formal written procedure. Where both the JAR and bureau procedures do not address a FAR subject, the FAR guidance is to be followed. (c) The JAR is not a complete system of regulations and must be used in conjunction with the FAR.

2801.106 OMB approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act.

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35) and the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) implementing regulations at 5 CFR part 1320, require that reporting and record keeping requirements affecting 10 or more members of the public be cleared by that office. The OMB control number for the collection of information under 48 CFR chapter 28 is 1103-0018.

SUBPART 2801.2 - ADMINISTRATION

2801.270-1 Revisions.

In addition to changes published in the Federal Register, the JAR will be amended by issuance of Justice Acquisition Circulars (JACs) containing loose-leaf replacement pages which revise parts, subparts, sections, subsections, paragraphs or subparagraphs. A vertical bar (edit bar) at the beginning or end of a line indicates that a change has been made within that line.

SUBPART 2801.3 - AGENCY ACQUISITION REGULATIONS

2801.304 Agency control and compliance procedures.

Pursuant to

FAR 1.304, the Chief Acquisition Officer (CAO) is responsible for ensuring that bureau acquisition regulations and directives do not restrain the flexibilities found in the FAR. For this reason, bureau acquisition regulations shall be forwarded to the PE upon issuance. The PE reserves the right to revoke the regulations and directives in this chapter if they are determined to be restrictive.

SUBPART 2801.4 - DEVIATIONS FROM THE FAR AND JAR

2801.403 Individual deviations.

Individual deviations from the FAR or the JAR shall be approved by the head of the contracting activity (HCA). A copy of the deviation shall be included in the contract file. Copies of all deviations will be provided to the PE.

2801.404 Class deviations.

Requests for class deviations from the FAR or the JAR shall be submitted to the PE. The PE will consult with the chairperson of the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council, as appropriate, and send his/her recommendations to the Assistant Attorney General for Administration (AAG/A). The AAG/A will grant or deny requests for such deviations. For the purposes of this chapter, requests for deviations involving basic ordering agreements, master type contracts, or situations where multiple awards are made from one solicitation, are considered to involve more than one contract and therefore considered to be class deviation requests.

2801.470 Requests for class deviations.

Requests for approval of class deviations from the FAR or the JAR shall be forwarded to the PE. Such requests will be signed by the Bureau Procurement Chief (BPC). Requests for class deviations shall be submitted as far in advance as the exigencies of the situation permit and shall contain sufficient written justification to evaluate the request.

(a) In accordance with Attorney General Order 1687-93, the authority vested in the Attorney General with respect to contractual actions, for goods and services, is delegated to the following officials:

(1) AAG/A (for the offices, boards, and divisions (OBDs);

(2) Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation;

(3) Director, Federal Bureau of Prisons;

(4) Commissioner, Federal Prison Industries;

(5) Commissioner, Immigration and Naturalization Service;

(6) Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration;

(7) Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs;

(8) Director, U.S. Marshals Service;

(9) Inspector General, Office of the Inspector General.

(b) The acquisition authority delegated to the officials in 2801.601(a) may be redelegated to subordinate officials as necessary for the efficient and proper administration of the Department's acquisition operations. Such redelegated authority shall expressly state whether it carries the power of redelegation of authority.

(c) The redelegation of contracting authority directly to specific persons without regard for intermediate organizational levels only establishes authority to represent the Government in its commercial business dealings. It is not intended to affect the organizational relationship between the contracting officers and higher administrative and supervisory levels in the performance of their duties.

2801.602 Contracting officers.

2801.602-3 Ratification of unauthorized commitments.

The HCA may delegate the authority to ratify unauthorized commitments to the chief of the contracting office, except for those actions effected by his or her office. Dollar thresholds for delegations made under this section will be determined by the HCA. Copies of all ratifications are to be provided to the PE.

2801.603 Selection, appointment and termination of appointment.

2801.603-1 Department of Justice Acquisition Career Management Program

(a) Each Bureau Procurement Chief shall develop and manage an acquisition career management program for contracting personnel in his or her component, consistent and uniform with this section and the Department of Justice Acquisition Procurement Career Management Program.

(b) The program shall cover all contracting personnel in the following categories:

(1) Management Information System. Standardized information on the acquisition workforce will be collected and maintained. To the maximum extent practicable, such data requirements shall conform to the standards established by the Office of Personnel Management for the Central Personnel Data File and shall be compatible with the Department of Justice acquisition workforce management information system.

(2) Individual Assessments and Development Plans for Personnel in the GS-1102 Contracting Series.

(i) An individual assessment by a supervisor of each covered employee's state of competence to perform the full range of potential duties of his or her job; and

(ii) An individual development plan to schedule classroom, on-the-job training, or other training to develop the employee's skill level to an appropriate level in each area of competence necessary to perform his or her job.

(iii) Individual assessments and development plans should be designed to fit the needs of the component, but they should be built upon the units of competence and instruction prepared by the Federal Acquisition Institute whenever feasible. Individual development plans should attempt to bring the employee to an appropriate level of skill in all necessary competencies in the field of procurement. In general, a proficiency skill level of 3, as defined in Attachment 1 to Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) Policy Letter 92-3, shall be obtained for any contracting duty that is actually required to be performed on the job. Individual assessments and development plans should be reviewed annually and revised as appropriate, until the employee reaches the full competency level of his or her job.

(iv) Employees who perform only purchasing duties, regardless of occupational series, shall be required to obtain the requisite level of skill only in competencies involving simplified acquisitions. If the employee's duties are expanded to include contracting duties, then skill in procurement competencies must be assessed and developed.

(v) Individual assessments of covered employee skills shall be completed within 90 days of the employee's entry on duty.

(4) Skills Currency. Contract Specialists (GS-1102) and contracting officers with authority to obligate funds above the micro-purchase threshold that have satisfied the mandatory training requirements, shall be provided the equivalent of at least 40 hours of continuing procurement and acquisition related education and training every two years for the purpose of maintaining the currency of acquisition knowledge and skills.

(5) Program Funding. Bureau Procurement Chiefs are responsible for assessing the funding needs to provide for the education and training of their acquisition workforce and requesting such funding in the annual budget process.

2801.603-3 Appointment

Contracting officers whose authority will be limited to micro-purchases shall be appointed in writing and include any limitations to that authority.

SUBPART 2801.70 - CONTRACTING OFFICER'S TECHNICAL REPRESENTATIVE.

2801.7001-701 General.

Contracting officers may appoint individuals selected by program offices to act as authorized representatives in the monitoring and administration of a contract. Such officials shall be designated as Contracting Officers' Technical Representatives (COTR's).

2801.7001-702 Selection, appointment, and limitation of authority.

(a) COTR Standards Program. This subpart sets forth policies and procedures for establishing standards for COTR's in DOJ. The program sets forth minimum standards for individuals to be eligible for an appointment as a COTR.

(b) Applicability. The eligibility requirements of this subpart apply to all individuals who are designated by the contracting officer as COTR's.

(c) Eligibility standards. To be determined eligible for an appointment as a DOJ COTR, the following standards must be met:

(1) The candidate must attend and successfully complete a minimum of a 16-hour basic COTR course; and

(2) The candidate must attend a minimum of 1 hour training specifically in procurement ethics, either through courses offered periodically by the Department, the bureaus, or a Government or commercial vendor.

(d) Limitations. Each COTR appointment made by the contracting officer shall clearly state that the representative is not an authorized contracting officer and does not have the authority under any circumstances to:

(1) Award, agree to award, or execute any contract, contract modification, notice of intent, or other form of binding agreement;

(2) Obligate, in any manner, the payment of money by the Government;

(3) Make a final decision on any contract matter which is subject to the clause at

(4) Terminate, suspend, or otherwise interfere with the contractor's right to proceed, or direct any changes in the contractor's performance that are inconsistent with or materially change the contract specifications.

(e) Termination. Termination of the COTR's appointment shall be made in writing by the contracting officer and shall give the effective date of the termination. The contracting officer shall promptly modify the contract once a COTR termination notice has been issued. A termination notice is not required when the COTR's appointment terminates upon expiration of the contract.

(f) Waivers. No individual may serve as a COTR on any contract without the requisite training and signed COTR certificate for the file. In the rare event that there is an urgent requirement for a specific individual to serve as a COTR and the individual has not successfully completed the required training, the BPC may waive the training requirements and authorize the individual to perform the COTR duties, for a period of time not to exceed 120 days. The waiver will be granted in accordance with bureau procedures.

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